BUTCH JONES NAMED TO LEAD RED WOLVES FOOTBALL

Butch Jones has taken the program reigns as the Red Wolves’ 31st all-time head football coach, following the departure of Blake Anderson to be head coach at Utah State.

Not only does Jones bring 11 years of head-coaching experience at the NCAA FBS level after previous stops leading programs at Tennessee (2013-17), Cincinnati (2010-12) and Central Michigan (201709), he also spent the last three seasons (2018-20) working as part of Nick Saban’s staff at national champion Alabama.

Jones is very appreciative of the A-State alumni who support the athletes and the football program, and he is looking forward to seeing Red Wolves fans filling Centennial Bank Stadium once again.

During his 11 seasons as a head coach, his teams combined to win four conference championships, played in eight bowl games and finished ranked in the AP Top 25 five times. He coached a combined 77 all-conference honorees and 27 NFL Draft picks, including All-Pro selections Alvin Kamara, Travis Kelce and Antonio Brown.

“Butch Jones’ outstanding record of success at both the G5 and P5 levels is evident, and we’re excited to having him leading our football program into the future,” said Terry Mohajir, former vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics. “He is the only coach over the last 12 years to lead Tennessee to back-to-back nine-win seasons, and he led Cincinnati and Central Michigan to four conference championships over a six-year period. Butch has also worked with one of the most-well-respected coaches in history in Nick Saban the last three years at Alabama. Our candidate pool was fantastic, but following extensive and positive conversations with Butch, while also looking at his winning history, coaching and leadership abilities and vision for our program, we became confident he was the clear choice to be our next head coach.”

Jones was formally introduced during a news conference Dec. 16 in the Centennial Bank Athletics Operations Center.

“It is truly an honor and privilege to be the head football coach at Arkansas State University,” said Jones. “It is a position that I take great pride in, and I look forward to connecting with our studentathletes to build upon the strong tradition of excellence both on and off the field of play. I am extremely grateful to Terry Mohajir, Dr. (Kelly) Damphousse and Dr. (Chuck) Welch for trusting me to be the caretaker of Arkansas State football.”

In addition to working as a special assistant at Alabama this season, he also was an offensive analyst for the program in 2018 and 2019 as it compiled a combined 25-3 record.

“I am thrilled that Butch Jones has agreed to be our next head football coach,” said Arkansas State University System President Dr. Charles Welch. “Butch brings significant winning experience at the both the G5 and P5 level. For the past three years, he’s been an integral part of one of the best college football programs in America. As Butch detailed the coaching staff he would bring, and the plan he would implement for our program, we were convinced that he was the right choice to be our head coach.”

Prior to Alabama, Jones spent a five-year stint at the University of Tennessee, collecting 34 wins and leading the Volunteers to bowl wins three times. He inherited a program that hadn’t won a bowl game since 2007 and proceeded to direct the Vols to three consecutive bowl game victories for the first time in over 20 years.

Focusing on the complete student-athlete, Jones helped mentor over 200 academic all-conference winners and 100-plus academic honor roll recipients while in Knoxville. Under his direction, every academic record in Tennessee history was broken with 85-plus players earning their degrees.

“My goal in this hire was to find someone who demonstrated a plan to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity for success at A-State,” said Arkansas State University Chancellor Kelly Damphousse. “I was seeking someone who could inspire trust of our student-athletes, his staff, our campus community, and our alumni and fans.

“Most importantly, I wanted someone who could accept my challenge to win with integrity. Coach Jones convinced me that he is the right person to lead our football program.”

Jones took over the Tennessee program after spending the 201012 seasons as Cincinnati’s head coach. The Bearcats compiled a 23-14 record in his three seasons while also winning the Big East title in 2011 and 2012. Jones was named the league’s Coach of the Year after Cincinnati’s 10-win season in 2011, while also earning the same honor from CBSSports.com in 2012 after his squad captured its second consecutive bowl victory and finished in the Top 25.

Other stops in recent years include head coach at Central Michigan from 2007-09, and wide receivers coach at West Virginia from 200506. A 1990 graduate of Ferris State University, he was a two-year football letterman.

Jones and his wife, Barb, are the parents of three sons – Alex, Adam and Andrew.